Extraction of reflectance maps for smart farming applications using Unmanned Aerial VehiclesExtraction of reflectance maps for smart farming applications using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Δημοσίευση σε Συνέδριο Conference Publication 2022-05-042020enThis research has been co-financed by the European Union and Greek national funds through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call RESEARCH – CREATE - INNOVATE (project code: T1EDK-04759, project name: sMart fArming with dRoneS -MARS).In this application paper, a robust framework for smart remote sensing of cultivations using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is presented, yielding to a useful tool with advanced capabilities in terms of time-efficiency, accuracy, user-friendly operability, adjustability and expandability. The proposed system incorporates multispectral imaging, automated navigation and real-time monitoring functionalities into a fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle platform. Offline analysis of captured data is performed, at this stage of system development, via powerful commercial software so as to extract the reflection map of the crop area under study based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. The proposed approach has been tested on selected cultivations in two regions (Greece), aiming at recording field variability and early detecting factors related to crop stress. Preliminary results indicate that the proposed framework can prove a cost-effective, precise, flexible and operative solution for agriculture industry, enabling the application of smart farming procedures for productive farm management. Adopting a collaborative group of aerial vehicles via Flying Ad hoc Networks, the proposed sensing approach could be further enhanced for large-scale applications, fusing data from multiple nodes into an advanced Decision Support System and providing information on bigger areas at the same time with respect to a single sensing source.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/1-62020 12th International Symposium on Communication Systems, Networks and Digital Signal Processing Livanos Georgios Λιβανος Γεωργιος Ramnalis Dimitris Polychronos Vasilis Balomenou Panagiota Sarigiannidis, Panagiotis, 1979- Kakamoukas Giorgos Karamitsou Thomi Angelidis, Pantelis Zervakis Michail Ζερβακης Μιχαηλ Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Smart farming Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Vegetation index Reflectance map Multispectral imaging Remote sensing Spectral signature Flying ad-hoc networks